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CANCELLATION NOTICE NORTHERN BEACHES MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024 Hello faithful friends of live music,
It was always going to be tight raising enough funds to cover the costs involved in staging this year’s festival.
However, a number of factors have come about which means that we are clearly not going to be in a position to cover these costs on this occasion which tally to approximately $40,000.
These factors include:
Excessive rise in Council fees and charges – The cost of hiring the Berry Reserve has risen by 227% since 2022 which we were only informed of on 29th September. Also, the cancellation of Event Grants this year meant that all we could apply for was one of their Arts grants which are not really intended for events like ours. In any case, the outcome of our application is still not known but is very unlikely to be enough to make a real difference anyway.
Very low takeup of Food & Merchandise stall positions – The income from which makes up a significant proportion of the income we need.
Reduction in anticipated sponsorships
Rhonda and I were prepared to donate $4,000 of our own money to cover the facility costs which would have meant that all of the ticket sales would be able to go to the artists. However, to date there have been very few bookings.
So, it is with great regret that we feel that we have no choice but to cut our losses and cancel the event for this year.
All monies paid by stall holders, sponsors and those who have purchased tickets will, of course, be refunded.
At this stage the prospect of future Northern Beaches Music Festivals doesn’t bode well. It looks like we may well have joined the mass extinction of ‘live music venues and festivals’ which have followed from the Covid epidemic.
Indeed live, original music venues appear to be an endangered species.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience we have caused you and hope that you will understand why this decision had to be made.
Regards . . .
Paul
========================= nbmfestival@gmail.com
Live World Contemporary Folk Music Festival planned for Narrabeen by Paul Robertson TN165 Sept 24 Hello friends of live music, welcome to The Northern Beaches Music Festival 2024, very much a ‘live’ World Contemporary Folk Music Festival. On November the 2nd and 3rd, we are presenting 40 acts on four stages over the weekend. The festival is located at the Tramshed Community Arts Centre and The Berry Reserve by the beautiful Narrabeen Lake. It includes fabulous, multi genre world music on three ticketed stages on Saturday from 12noon-11pm and on Sunday from 12noon-8pm, and one stage free to the general public operating from 9am-7pm both days, set amidst our festival village of world food and merchandise stalls. When we say “multi genre world music” we mean it. From the brilliant Squeezebox Boogaloo delivering Zydeco dance rhythms and song, to the toe tapping, hard driving swamp blues of Daddy Longlegs and The Swamp Donkey, to the Middle Eastern dance rhythms of Aljamia and the South American rhythms of Azadoota. Following this is the original country diva, Ingrid Mae, plus the bluest of grasses of Ricky Pann and the Folkenators, Indian music from Tabla Solo plus the local original genius, Luke Escombe. But wait, it doesn’t stop there, as we also have the glorious danceable jigs of the Full Irish, the Gypsy/French swing of the Cameron Jones Trio plus the up tempo Anglophiles, Traditional Graffiti, the Northern Beaches Blues Diva, Liza Olhback and the Mercy Train, and the most original local artist Charlie Castle & Boys in the Well. International artists include George Mann from the USA and Gerry Hallom from the United Kingdom. On the free community stage, we will feature many local and visiting talented musicians as well as school bands and ensembles delivering a wonderful array of free music throughout the Festival weekend. Wow!! What can I say? It’s going to be great! Our festival is a not-for-profit event supported by the Northern Beaches Music Alliance composed of: The Shack; Humph Hall; The Manly Fig; Fairlight Folk; Songs on Stage; Acoustic Picnic; The Music Lounge; and, Radio Northern Beaches. With a definite focus on the Northern Beaches, our common goals are to: to produce and present musicians and other performing artists including up and coming young artists; to provide, maintain and help create venues at which artists can be presented; and, to invite, involve and include our diverse community including the disabled and indigenous, especially with regard to music, performing arts, food, dance, costume and culture. We are keen to hear from all potential volunteers to help us with the presentation and production of our festival. We need people to work on the gate, help with administration, help on stage (including compering), help with waste management, help with musical instrument storage and retrieval as well as a whole range of other more skilled activities! A “four hour shift” gets you a day’s free entry! Two “four hour shifts” gets you a free weekend pass. If you’ve got the skills and would like to be involved please contact us!!! Tickets are now on sale., featuring our ‘Early Bird’ weekend pass bargain of $80. For all other pricing check the website. See you there!
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Fifty acts on five stages at Narrabeen by Paul Robertson TN158 The 2023 Northern Beaches Music Festival will be held at Narrabeen NSW from Saturday 4th to Sunday 5th of November. The festival is the combined creation of seven Northern Beaches music venues by a not-for-profit and community based organisation. The contributing venues are The Shack, Fairlight Folk, Humph Hall, The Fig, SongsOnStage, The Acoustic Picnic, and The Music Lounge, together with Radio Northern Beaches. This year we are once again at Tramshed Community Arts Centre and Berry Reserve on the fabulous and beautiful Narrabeen Lakes. As you walk freely from stage to stage, you can indulge your senses and enjoy the richness and diversity of music, food, dance and family activities from all over the world. Operating since 2011, the Northern Beaches Music Festival is renowned for its unusually wide range of musical genres including folk, blues, Celtic, roots, country, gypsy, African, Middle Eastern, bluegrass, world music and dancing. The Festival is presenting 50 acts on five stages over two days. Three of the stages are ticketed. This year we are sponsored by Bucketty’s Brewery, who are running a free access bar and stage in the courtyard of the Tramshed Community Arts Centre. In addition to this, Torraca Enterprises are sponsoring another free stage known as the Torraca Stage in Berry Reserve. This stage will be presenting music and dance all weekend. Our dancers this year include Morris Dancers, Serbian Dancers and Scottish Dancers (accompanied by the Manly-Warringah Pipe Band). We also have children’s entertainment and activities all set in our world food and marketing village beside the lakes. The food variety includes Serbian wraps, Thai noodles, Mexican nachos, English fish and chips, Chinese dumplings, American donuts, Dutch pancakes, Italian gelato, and, of course, coffee. Our festival includes, involves and supports many multi-cultural community groups including local school students and disabled musicians and an indigenous ‘Welcome to Country’. And, as usual, we feature disability friendly activities and a children’s play area with kids and family activities and games free of charge. This year’s famous artists include: Cameron Daddo & the Paisley Prophets; Liza Ohlback & The Mercy Train; The Mezcaltones; Dead Mellow; Luke Escombe; The Fallen Robins; Mic Conway & Robbie Long; Shane Flew; Kevin Welch (US); Jaga Band; and, Moussa Diakite just to name a few! There’ll be a host of entertainment and joy for all the family – come along! Go to the festival’s web site for more information and ticketing: northernbeachesmusicfestival.org.
Northern Beaches Music Festival by Paul Robertson Published in T&N 151 October 2022
Hello friends of live music, welcome to the Sydney Northern Beaches Music Festival 2022. We, like a magical musical phoenix rising from the ashes of Covid closure, are once again raising our live music banner high. On November 5 and 6, we are presenting 50 acts on five stages over the weekend. The festival is located at the Tramshed Community Arts Centre and The Berry Reserve by the beautiful Narrabeen Lake. Our festival includes fabulous, multi genre world music on four ticketed stages and one free to the general public stage, set amidst our festival village of world food and merchandise stalls. All of our community and beyond are welcome to a fantastic weekend of live music, dance, food and performing arts. When we say “multi genre world music” we mean it. From the brilliant Afro Moses delivering African dance rhythms and song, to the toe tapping, hard driving swamp blues of Daddy Longlegs and The Swamp Donkey, to “they just make me want to dance “ Psycho Zydeco and the wild Celtic whirlwind that is Firrin. Following this is the original country diva, Lou Bradley, plus the bluest of grasses, The Willing Ponies and the local original genius, Luke Escombe. But wait! It doesn’t stop there, as we also have the glorious danceable and costumed Ukranian band Jaga and the original high energy dynamism of Akova, plus the up tempo Anglophiles, Traditional Graffiti, and the coolest of groove, Dead Mellow, as well as the raucous punk folk juggernaut, The Bottlers and the awesome retro 70’s cabaret of The Trippy Hippy Band. Other acts include Australian legendary troubadour, Pat Drummond, BluesAngels and the touring international artist from the USA, George Mann. Wow!! What can I say? It’s going to be great. The list of the other incredibly talented original artists goes on and on. You are going to love it! This is definitely a BYO dancing shoes fun event! The Northern Beaches Music Festival is a not for profit, community based event operating since 2011. We are supported be The Northern Beaches Council, Mona Vale Music, FFWOIN Multimedia Productions and The Northern Beaches Music Alliance, which is made up of seven major music clubs. These are the Shack, The Manly Fig, Humph Hall, Fairlight Folk, Songs on Stage, The Music Lounge and The Acoustic Picnic. The Alliance’s collective aims are: To produce and present musicians and other performing artists including local and up and coming artists; To provide support for and to create performing arts venues in our community; and, To invite and involve our diverse community including local schools, the disabled, plus our multi-cultural and First Nation members, especially with regard to music, performing arts, food, dance, costume and culture. So there you have it! The Northern Beaches Music Festival is back and it is an affordable and enjoyable live music event not to be missed. Everyone is invited to attend. We are also looking for volunteers and for more information on that and ticket sales and program please refer to our website northernbeachesmusicfestival.org See you there!
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